296 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I33 



tains is treacherous and may make you sick," Another comphmented 

 my assistant on the pronunciation of Araucanian words: "You would 

 make a good Araucanian senorita; your accent is nearly perfect." 

 Always persons covered the mouth when coughing and turned from 

 everyone when using a handkerchief. 



In general, adults assisted me in every way, especially in demon- 

 strating activities or showing objects that we were learning about. 

 Specimen plants were collected ; spinning and weaving were demon- 

 strated ; sample pieces of pottery were made. Adults, and children too, 

 walked long distances to show us the way to informants ; they carried 

 our luggage and relayed messages for us. Kolupan, however, hesitated 

 to make a sample cradle. His eyes were poor, he said, and it would 

 take too much effort to collect colihiie stalks that he would need in 

 making the cradle; in any event, it would take time to make one. 

 When we promised him pay, he remarked, "Money is not important." 

 He thought a little while, looked at the field assistant, and said, "I 

 shall make one for you, Sefiorita Margarita." Several days later he 

 returned with the cradle (pi. 74, 1,2) and explained how he had made 

 it. This done, he handed the cradle to my assistant, and said : "This 

 is for you, senorita. Tie your first baby boy to it and call him 

 Kolupan." 



Hospitality has always been a virtue of the Araucanians and is so 

 today. Handshaking upon meeting is an old custom, and not one 

 adopted from Argentines, old informants insisted. Whenever we 

 arrived in a house, everyone stepped forward to shake hands and to 

 express a greeting. A child too young to do so unassisted was helped 

 by someone older. On one occasion all was set for an interview with 

 a man in his eighties. We asked a question, but instead of answering 

 it, he made his way around chairs and a table to shake hands with my 

 assistant, which he had forgotten to do. Having done this he said, 

 "Now let us begin to talk." 



Benches, chairs, or boxes were covered with pelts or small throws, 

 often by a child, before they were offered for sitting. Upon our 

 arrival at the home of a cacique (pi. yy, i), he walked briskly toward 

 us, shook hands warmly and wholeheartedly with everyone who had 

 arrived, and invited us to the family sun shelter where his wife and 

 children had quickly prepared benches for us. 



An expression of genuine hospitality today is to treat visitors to 

 yerba mate soon after their arrival. "When we see anyone coming up 

 these mountains, we stir up the fire and get water to boil for yerba 

 mate." A child is usually assigned these tasks. A cup of yerba mate 

 with a bombilla is then passed around, each person taking a draught 



